Imperialist Faction

The Imperialist Faction was a conservative faction of Japanese politics that was founded in 1867 out of former Court Faction members. The faction advocated Japanese expansion and imperial conquest, and it held slightly more right-wing views than the Nationalist Faction of Japan, as it advocated stronger state control over the economy. The party opposed foreign competition in trade, supported the state's control over the capitalism, opposed foreign influences on Japanese culture, and supported an aggressive foreign policy. The Imperialist Faction would rule Japan for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, and its rule over Japan saw Japan conquer Taiwan during the First Sino-Japanese War, Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War, Korea in 1911, and the German Pacific colonies during World War I.